Garden Gate: Last call for winterizing your yard and gardenWeather for this Halloween week is forecasted to be WWW: Warm, Wet and Windy. While discussing the unusual balmy weather with a friend of mine, she said, “Yeah, we’re not in Kansas anymore,” adding, “We’re still pulling carrots.” Lately, weather has been on the front burner of many conversations. Skiers and deer hunters wring their hands, waiting for snow, while Chiniak commuters are grateful for ice-free roads. N...

Garden Gate: TomTato: Growing two cooking staples togetherI’m all about combining potatoes and tomatoes together when cooking a soup, but I never thought about combining them in the garden until now. Thompson & Morgan, the seed catalog company, has developed a new tomato variety that not only produces fruit (described as sweeter and better tasting than anything you can find in the supermarket), but will also create a bountiful crop of white potatoes at the end of the sea...

Garden Gate: When to pick tomatoesWhen it comes to growing tomatoes on Kodiak Island, I turn to Sandee Drabek. So it made perfect sense to ask her the big follow-up question, “How do you know when to pick tomatoes?” I laughed at her first response, which was so logical and forthright it caught me off guard. “Well, my friend, red is good for ripe tomatoes,” adding “or a rich gold or tangerine depending on the variety.” Sandee, who has studied the a...

Flowers fade, but weeds don'tWhen fishermen hang up their nets in late summer, skippers and crew members glance at each other, silently saying, “Okay, season’s over.” In late fall, gardeners do the same thing: When the last flower fades, many growers put their trowels away and murmur, “Okay, season’s over.” Not so fast. To everything there is a season, and there’s weeding to be done. A few years ago I asked Blythe Brown what more can done in ...

Garden Gate: How to winterize your plantsIt’s hard to say goodbye to old friends. That’s how I felt when I walked around the garden last week. Marigolds that had glowed yellow and orange in August, looked as if they’d donned brown trench coats. The rhubarb looked trampled and the delphinium by the front door that once towered over my head with purple and white hooded flowers, looked like dead bamboo. But I discovered bright spots during my walk. Turnips,...

Garden Gate: Fall is in the airYesterday’s autumnal equinox reminded me that it’s not June anymore. Every year, the calendarural event yanks me out of denial. Still, I welcome the change, and as I search for exquisite light in autumn’s sunrises and colorful landscapes, it gives my camera purpose. It reminds me of something that photographer Galen Rowell used to say: “The edges of nature is where you’ll find dynamic light and landscapes.” I noti...

From Soup to Nuts: Bargains don't require sacrificeI was raised by my fiscally disciplined and ultra-conservative Scandinavian elders. However, the hands-down master of penny pinchers in my family was Grandma Hazel. A shrewd negotiator and homemaker, she was revered for her ability to sniff out a bargain and store managers learned to avoid her because of her go-for-the-jugular bargaining tactics. It is with her tenacity in mind that I pick through the Kodiak produ...

Garden Gate: Compost is gold for the gardenAfter moving to Kodiak in 1984, I developed a hankering to grow something. Mostly food. So I started attending Kodiak Garden Club meetings. Most of the presentations however were, you might have guessed: mostly flowers. Things have changed, beginning with the front yard: Lawns and gardens have replaced crab pots and skiffs. And overall, folks are growing more vegetables in places where aggressive salmonberry bushe...

Garden Gate: Putting the garden to bedFall is in the air, and we need to begin the process of putting the garden to bed — or at least think about it. This is not a time to be sad. English author and gardener Vita Sackville-West says this time of the year (late summer for us; fall for the remaining gardeners north of the equator) should be particularly pleasant. “If it is true that one of the greatest pleasures of gardening lies in looking forward, the...

Garden Gate: Nasturtiums are a tasty ingredientMost people who live and garden in warmer climates don’t give nasturtiums a second glance. They’re sometimes regarded as weeds, as they reseed easily and grow most anywhere with the least amount of maintenance. In Kodiak, nasturtiums are appreciated for the simple fact that they provide a colorful, late summer bloom, until a frost turns them into mush. Colorful, edible, tuba-shaped nasturtium blossoms have delight...